The National Institutes of Health director, Dr. Francis Collins, said Thursday that U.S. citizens might not have full access to a coronavirus vaccine until July.
Both Dr. Anthony Fauci, a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar had previously said that it would be available to most in the United States earlier.
In an AARP conference call, Collins said that frontline workers, nursing homes, and people at high-risk would be prioritized for the vaccine in December. However, there will not be enough doses to fully vaccinate that population until February or March.
“By the spring, people who are not in one of those high-risk groups will start to also have the chance to get access — we’ve got to start with the high-risk groups first,” Collins said. “And by the summer, hopefully around July or so maybe our country — assuming everybody is willing to take the vaccine, which is another issue — should be able to get access.”
When asked by CNN’s Jake Tapper on Nov. 10 when most Americans would be able to get the vaccine, Fauci said, “Probably by April, the end of April, but these are just guesstimates. … But if Jake Tapper wants to be vaccinated, I think you’re gonna get vaccinated in the first four months. I would say by April you’ll be able to get vaccinated.”
In October, Azar told CBS News, “By the end [of] January, [we’ll have] enough vaccine for all of our seniors, as well our healthcare workers and first responders, and, by the end of March to early April, enough for all Americans.”
